


Decidedly Dangerous (Not Adorable!)

by theStarfly



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Like... dangerous creature adorable, M/M, Newt Thinks Credence is Adorable, Obscurial Credence Barebone, Pre-Relationship, Protective Credence Barebone, overprotective! Credence, potential start of a series?, prompt-fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 18:55:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9137113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theStarfly/pseuds/theStarfly
Summary: Newt may be a /little/ bit infatuated with Credence's protective streak.  Hey, no one ever accused him of being too safe.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [endlcss_possibilities](https://archiveofourown.org/users/endlcss_possibilities/gifts).



> I tried my best, Tamix! Sorry it's so short, but I could feel a giant plot brewing and didn't want to over-commit without being able to follow through. It may be continued, though, if you're interested? I can just feel it developing into fluffy tooth-rotting adorableness. I hope you like it!  
> Happy New Year!

It was kind of adorable, really. Or, it would have been, if it weren’t so hazardous. But then again, Newt had a long-standing history of taking creatures that many would consider “dangerous” under his wing, slapping a “hazardous” label on them to defend them, and finding them far, far too cute for his own well-being. It stood to reason that it was part of the same trend all over again.

  
Except, well. This time, it wasn’t a creature being a general hazard to everyone around it, it was a human. And the human, well. Newt wasn’t sure even he could pretend “hazard” was the proper term for Credence Barebone, and Newt had a fully-functioning Nundu in his case. The boy was downright dangerous; there was no denying it. But, he wasn’t dangerous to Newt (and it didn’t make him any less adorable).

  
In fact, it had the opposite effect. Much like his occamies had imprinted as they hatched, neural pathways telling them to protect the nest, themselves, and their Mummy at all costs, so too had the boy looked up at Newt in recognition when the man had found him, and found himself dead-set on protect. Newt had found him, for lack of a better word, huddled in the ship’s darkest corners, skin as pale and translucent as a newborn’s. Credence had flung himself into Newt’s arms, nuzzling his face into what Newt could only assume was the first familiar shoulder he’d seen in weeks, and that was that. It truly was remarkable, the boy’s ability to avoid eye-contact with more tenacity than even Newt himself.

  
He was like a tiny, fluffy duckling following Newt around the case once he realized he hadn’t overstepped and would be allowed to stay. That is, if a tiny duckling was approaching six feet tall and could shake apart into a destructive malestrom of chaos at a second’s provocation.

  
Like now. It should be terrifying, but instead, Newt couldn’t help the grin he could feel tugging at his lip as he tried to quash it down, watching Credence from the corner of his eye. It was Credence’s fourth day in the case, and Newt was still unable to convince himself to start the stern education the boy would need before they landed in just one more in order to fit in properly in wizarding society.

  
Newt shook the pail of meat for the Graphorns again, for all intents and purposes seemingly engrossed in his creatures, though still he watched Credence. Thundering hoofbeats approached, growing louder as they grew closer, and with each echoing hoofstep and snort, Credence grew a little bit more puffed up, wisps of smoke shaking off his shoulders as he shuddered and very obviously tamped down on his need to throw himself in front of Newt and protect him from the oh-so-utterly-terrible tentacle kisses he was about to receive.

  
Newt’s eyebrow twitched as he held back the laugh, Credence shuddered, fading out and back, and the Graphorn happily nuzzled Newt’s face, head-butting him gently.

  
Credence’s fists clenched white, and Newt allowed himself a full smile as he turned to face the boy.”Credence,” he laughed softly as the creature nudged him again, blushing pink as he saw Credence’s aborted step forward and nervous jolt. “Credence, could you help me with these? This one,” he tangled his fingers in the tentacles and gave a gentle tug, “seems to want to play, but I need someone to feed the others. Do you think you could do that for me, Credence?”

  
Credence shook out his hand beside him, blushing the lightest of pinks to rival Newt’s own cheeks, and twitched some of his shadows back under control, nodding at some unknown spot on the ground by Newt’s feet.

  
“I— of course, Mr. Scamander.” He reached a shaky hand for the bucket, even as Newt gave him a pointed look and his most practiced pout. He had been told it was devastating, the laughter that accompanied the statement notwithstanding.

  
“Credence…”

“I— of course, um. Newt. I, yes,” he grabbed the bucket as though to do something rash like dump it all over the ground, just to have something to do with his hands, but Newt didn’t let go.

They stood awkwardly for a moment, linked by the bucket between them. Credence finally looked up.

“Don’t worry about them, Credence,” Newt said, smiling, after eye-contact was established, and Credence blinked away in a hurry at the words, eyes flitting back to Newt’s shoulder. “They may be fairly in time with recent muggle horror writers, but they’re completely harmless.

Credence flushed as he looked back down to the bucket held by their shared hands, fidgeting slightly. “Ma didn’t…” he cleared his throat and shifted his grip, incidentally, sliding his hand closer to Newt’s on the handle. “We weren’t allowed to read that sort of thing. Or any sort of thing, really. Ma called it wicked. Sinful.”  
Newt frowned and tugged Credence forward slightly by the hold on the bucket. The shivers of smoke on Credence’s shoulders that had nearly faded entirely shot back up for a moment in surprise, before quieting back down. He still stared at the bucket, seeing but not seeing the gruesome snack inside. 

“Well, Credence,” Newt knocked Credence in the shoulder in a deliberate imitation of the Graphorn, most certainly not just to see the jump of the obscurus and flush of red through the grey there and gone in a flash. Not Newt, no sir. There would be no reason; it was most certainly was not adorable at all. “I’ll just get to have the pleasure of educating you. Some of the best horror is written by magizoologists for the no-maj market, you know.”

He grinned at Credence, who shared a small smile in return, relaxing against Newt where their shoulders still touched, settled back fully into his skin.

Maybe not a duckling, Newt conceded. Perhaps a kitten; sharp claws, destructive capabilities to rival the strongest human. Still utterly adorable, though.


End file.
